Tohru in Paradise
by iliahi
Summary: Tohru and the Sohmas encounter a legend while on vacation in Hawai'i.


_Disclaimer:_

_Tohru Honda and Kyo, Yuki, Shigure, Ayame, Hatori, Kagura and Kisa Sohma are the property of Natsuki Takaya. Parts of this story have appeared previously as "Aloha, Tohru". The story is now all in one place. The earlier "chapters" will be removed to avoid confusion. _

**Tohru in Paradise**

The plane ride was interminable.

Kyo was asleepat last. He'd paced the aisles for hours. Being confined in the airborne "prison" of a jet for almost ten hours, even if the destination was Hawaii, was almost too much for the Cat. Yuki, on the other hand, had curled up with a book as soon as he'd been strapped into his seat. Except for the food and beverage service and the occasional, polite interruptions to inquire if he needed a blanket, a pillow, and more teahe seemed quite at ease.

Tohru was excited...and terrified.

This was her first trip on an airplane and the thought of only miles of air between her and the fathomless ocean frightened her. What ifwhat if. She wished Hatori had come with them instead of Ayame who had kept the cabin attendants entertained for almost the entire flight after his headlong rush into the cabin. He'd been the last to board. Shigure was amused, but he'd brought his laptop and worked when Ayame wasn't interfering.

Ayame wasn't supposed to be with them. Hatori was supposed to have come but the thought of being separated from his physician for even the five days of Golden Week kept Akito from letting him go. With one ticket left, no one had stepped into the breachuntil Ayame boarded the plane, much to Yuki and Kyo's dismay. Of course by then it had been too late for them to get off the plane.

Hawai'i.

It was a dream. She'd been treated to trips before but never this extravagant. And winning that prize in the drawing was almostwell, almost magical. But then, nearly everything about this family seemed magical and mythical. Tohru had somehow had the winning ticket for a free trip for four to Hawaii. Shigure had purchased the fifth ticket, not wanting to be the only "old guy" on the trip.

Tohru's hands were tightly clenched on the armrests of her chair. She'd eaten very little. She'd made the trip to the bathroom, nervously walking down the aisle past two rows of passengers, twice. And only because she'd really had no choice. Otherwise she was content to stay strapped into her seat. Yuki had the window seat. Kyo was across the aisle. Yuki had offered to let her sit in his seat, but she'd seemed so frightened that he didn't persist.

Kyo alternately prowled the aisle from first class back through coach and around the rear galley to first class again and again and again. The movie didn't interest him and Tohru wouldn't talk. Rather, Tohru couldn't talk. "She's hopeless. " was his last thought before he finally fell asleep.

This Hawaii was so far away but she had seen it on television; palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze, white sandy beaches glistening under sunny blue skies, friendly people and hula girls. She wondered if Yuki or Kyo would be interested in hula girls, but right now the plane seemed to be descending. They were here.

Yuki peered out the window. At first all he could see were clouds and then blue sky and still far off, slivers of green dotting an aquamarine ocean. The islands seemed so small, much smaller than he'd thought. How could all those people live there? What were they like? He knew there were many Japanese living in the islands. A classmate had moved to Hawaii and found that he could always find someone who spoke Japanese , but still, it was a foreign destination and exotic. What would there be to do besides go to the beach and shop? He'd brought his schoolbooks. If not for Tohru...

Kyo felt the plane's descent as a peculiar lurch in his stomach and he opened his eyes.

"Please replace your trays. All seats should be in an upright position." The announcement was made mainly for those in coach and economy classes. The attendants bowed their way along the first class seats, assisting where needed. They avoided Kyo and seemed to gather around Ayame who was excitedly peering through his window and kept up a running commentary on what he could see:-blue sky, emerald gems of islands laid against a deeply azure seeand things he couldn't possibly see, sexy hula girls, surfers, shopping malls?. Shigure had to be reminded to shut down his laptop and he reluctantly put it away. Yuki was still buried in his book and Tohru...something about Tohru-kun made Kyo want to reach across the aisle and touch her hand.

"Hey. Tohru."

She looked at him, her eyes wide.

"We've arrived. It's okay." He looked at her hands, still white knuckled and clenching the handrests. "You can let go now."

She managed a wan smile and nodded. She loosened her grip just a little. She was surprised that her hands hurt. Yes, Kyo was trying to reassure her. How like him to do that for her. She turned as Yuki stretched. He smiled at her, too. She was so lucky to have both of them concerned about her and trying to ease her fears. It would be all right. Hawaii was paradise, right?

They were hustled through Customs by Shigure who spoke English competently and their escort who had met them at the gate. Customs was a jarring reminder that Hawaii was American territory and suddenly Tohru was through the sliding glass doors into the warm, humid air that smelled at once like diesel fumes and flowers. A small, smartly dressed driver awaited them with the doors of a stretch limousine opened to welcome them. Tohru tried to lift her bags but Kyo took one and Yuki grabbed the other before his brother could. Instead, Ayame tossed his bag to the driver and hustled Tohru into the limo.

"How do you like paradise?" He smiled at her. She liked Ayame, but he made her uncomfortable sometimes. And yet, he was Yuki-kun's brother. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded that she was looking at a future version of Yuki. It wasunsettling.

"It's..."

She was saved from answering by Shigure who said "She hasn't seen it yet. All we've seen so far looks just like any other airport. When are we going to see beaches?"

"Uh, umI haven't seen many airports so this one is pretty, right?" Tohru offered.

And what she had seen of it was prettyopen to the breezes, spacious, with gardens nestled in unexpected places and signs in English and Japanese. The people wore such colorful clothing and the lei she was given, with a kiss, too! draped gently around her neck. The purple and white orchids were lovely. She felt happy and excited. "I'm so lucky." she thought. "So very lucky."

"Why do I have to sit next to you?" Kyo demanded as he realized the last seat in the limo was next to Yuki.

"Why do I have to sit next to YOU?" Yuki retorted.

"Yuki-kuncome sit next to me!" Ayame invited. "Let us be brotherly."

Yuki muttered something that sounded like "Go to hell." before Shigure intervened.

"Ayalet ME sit next to you."

"Ah, Gure-sancome then."

Tohru had to move to make room for Shigure and found herself next to Yuki , with Kyo forced to sit next to Aya, but at least Tohru was between Yuki and Kyo...just as Shigure had intended.

The trip to the hotel along the freeway didn't look like Hawaii at allat least not the Hawaii of the postcards and travel shows and magazines. Used car lots, rental car lots and warehouses lined the small highway. A freeway soared overhead and suddenly, there was skyand more warehouses. Where was the ocean?

"Where are the beaches?" muttered Kyo.

Yuki looked up from his book. Tohru tried to peer past him through the window. The driver kept up a cheerful narrative of what they were passing on the way to the Princess Hotel which was right on the beach, he said.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Now now, Kyo...there are lovely beaches here. Just you wait."

And there was. Beyond the large glass doors of the lobby, white sand and white capped surf beckoned. People were lying on the sand, playing in the water. And yet, off to one side of this view, there was a swimming pool.

"Now does that make sense at all?" Kyo wondered. A swimming pool, right next to the beach?

The hotel lobby was bigger than anything Tohru had seen with marble floors and a winding staircase leading to the second and third floor restaurants. Chandeliers glistened and reflected off the polished floors and exotic flower arrangements that were almost as tall as she was were everywhere. It was very humid and Tohru wished she'd had lighter clothing. The girls walking through the lobby all wore short shorts or...she gasped and blushed, the skimpiest of bikinisthey looked like they were wearing only their underwearin public.

Yuki looked up. Kyo's eyes widened and Tohru wondered how she'd have the nerve to wear her swimsuit, let alone something like that bikiniin the lobby of the hotel!

"I love her...sandals!" Ayame said, obviously not noticing her footwear at all.

"High school girlsin Hawaiiah yes, " murmured Shigure.

Tohru blushed just as the bellman swept them and their luggage into the elevator.

From their suite they could see the ocean stretching out to the horizon and the beach twenty stories below. There were fewer people on the beach now, but Tohru was still fascinated by the view. She was out on the lanai again.

"Hey, close the door, will ya. You're letting all the cool air out." Kyo complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tohru stepped back into the suite and slid the door shut behind her. Yuki had closeted himself in his room. Ayame and Shigure had decided to take in Waikiki at night and were walking along the crowded noisy sidewalks of Kalakaua Avenue, trying not to bump into women. Kyo was trying to find something interesting to watch on the local television stations and not having much luck. Even the local Japanese language television station was boringit was showing re-runs of a popular TBS variety show that were more than a few years old. Gah.

"Bahthis is boring. I'm going out."

She didn't want to bother Yuki and Kyo didn't seem to want company. Tohru was temporarily at a loss. Well, she had her own key. Going down to the lobby didn't seem so dangerous. She was still in the hotel, right? She grabbed her mother's picture as she left the room.

She was alone in the elevator, but when the doors opened on the lobby, her courage almost deserted her . Then she made up her mind. The beach was right there. She would go and take a little look.

A soft breeze blew coolness against her skin. The sand was clean and scrunched beneath her sandals. Waves brushed the shore and a single star, or was it a planet, shone clearly just beneath the crescent moon. Families were walking along the beach, children ran down to the waves and shrieked as the water wet their toes. They ran back to their parents, laughing. Couples strolled along or stood, hand in hand. Tohru couldn't understand much of what anyone was saying, but they all seemed to be happy; content and feeling safe on this beach, at night. She stepped out of her sandals onto the sand and walked down to the water.

It was warm and lapped at her toes. "Look, Mom. We're in Hawaii. The moon is so bright tonight." She held her mother's picture out so that she could see the moonlit water.

Suddenly, a much larger wave rushed in and before she could move, the skirt of her sundress was soaked and her mother's picture was floating away.

"Oh, oh," She tried to splash in after it and would have fallen, but a strong arm caught her. She thought it was Kyo who'd found her, but the hand that held her mother's picture and the arm that supported her were bronze and muscular and showed no signs of turning into an animal. She looked up into deep brown eyes that seemed to be laughing at her.

"Are you okay?" She understood "okay" and nodded.

"_Ah, excuse me_," he said in halting Japanese. He handed the picture to her and led her to the beach.

"_Here_. _Please._" he handed her the towel he had draped around his neck and gestured toward the picture she had, fortunately, wrapped in a plastic bag.

Tohru bowed. "Thank you very much." She wiped the water from her mother's picture.

"Hey, Keala." A tiny girl with short black hair, wearing boardshorts and a tank top waited further up the beach. Her arms were crossed as she waited impatiently. "Hurry up. "

Behind her a group of boys moved quickly away. "Looks like he got another one."

"What?"

"A fish?" Laughter followed that remark. "Throw it back. It's too small."

"Get lost, you guys. She's just a little wet." He smiled at her. "_You're really okay_? _Will it_" he gestured at the picture, "_be alright_?"

Tohru bowed and said, "Yes, of course. Thank you so much."

"_Good. I'm sorry. I have to go_." He saw a handsome gray haired young man approaching at a run. Probably her boyfriend and then there was a guy with orange hair right behind him. Popular girl, he thought. He smiled at her and ran back to his friends.

"Char, wait." He called after the girl who had turned away, stomping after the retreating group of boys.

He was gone before Tohru remembered she still had his towel.

"Honda-san." A familiar voice called. "What happened? Did you fall in? Are you all right?"

"Ah, Yuki-kunI'm so clumsy. I almost fell in, but the water was so beautiful and warm. Excuse me. I got too close to it."

"You should have told me you wanted to go walking." He smiled at her. "I would have taken you."

"Who was that guy?" It was Kyo demanding this as he scowled at the group laughing as they walked down the beach. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No, he didn't. He gave me this towel." It was cold now. Tohru shivered and wrapped the towel around her.

"Ackyou're wet. We'd better get you up to the room. Geez can't you go anywhere without falling in?"

"You're a fine one to talkwhy didn't you take her with you when you went out?"

"Why did YOU let her go alone? You were locked up in your room with that damn book!"

Tohru sneezed, ending that argument.

Something in the night darkened water nosed the beckoning scentsone as familiar as his own skin and another that intrigued him. He would have to tell his Tutu, his grandmother what he had detected in the water and ask her what could be done about it. There was a finned flash in the ocean that skimmed the surface swiftly and was gone.

Tohru was flyingno. She was in the ocean so she couldn't be flying but she seemed to be slipping through the water without any effort at all. She heard something that told her without words that there was beauty in the sea, but danger, too. Yellow, green, blue, orange fish flew past them? her? She was with someonewho wouldn't let her look either left or right, just straight ahead into the deepening blue of the ocean and suddenly they were beyond the sun-dappled reef and the fish were bigger. Dolphins passed them, one looked back at her. Turtles fled. And then there was a large shadow below her. "Don't look" she was warned. But the shadow was compelling. She lookedit was large, finned, menacing and hungry. Tohru was afraid and in that instant suddenly remembered, "How can I breathe under water?"

She woke up, gasping and shuddering. The door to her room opened unceremoniously and Kyo stuck his head in. "What? What happened?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Kyo came and knelt next to her bed. "Really?"

She didn't want him to worry. It was only a dream, right? "Yes, excuse me. I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you."

Kyo wanted to stroke her hair and assure himself that she was all right. She hadn't cried out very loudly, but he'd heard her anyway and had gotten up to see if she was okay. Yuki stuck his head in at that moment and Kyo jumped up. "Well, if you're all right..."

"Honda-san?" Yuki looked worried, too. "What happened?"

"It's okay, Yuki-kun. I think I had a bad dream." She tried to smile at him. "I'm fine. Really."

Kyo came back into her room with a glass of water in his hand. "Here. Drink this."

Tohru noticed that they weren't arguing. Had she made them that worried? She needed to try harder to reassure them that she was okay. But...that dream...it seemed so real. Her hand shook a little as she remembered the shadow and a drop of water spilled onto the spread. There had been something almost familiar about the shadow and the presence that had guided her through the ocean.

"That doesn't sound like our Tohru-kun at all, " said Ayame the next morning when Yuki and Kyo told Shigure what happened the night before and why Tohru was still in her room.

"She must be very tired. We let her sleep." Yuki looked challengingly into Ayame's eyes. You'd better leave her alone, today, he seemed to be saying.

"I think I need to see for myself how she isafter all, she is so dear to all of us. We need to make sure she's doing well. Wouldn't do to have her not feel well because of a bad dream, now would it?" Ayame rose to go and check on Tohru causing both Kyo and Yuki to get out of their seats at the same time as Tohru made her appearance.

They were so predictable, Shigure thought.

"Good morning. You let me sleep so late. I'm sorry. " She bowed to all of them.

"It's okay, Tohru-kun. Ayame-san was just going to see how you were doing?" Shigure smiled, trying to smooth things over. Yuki and Kyo still looked thunderous but Ayame was sitting down and that seemed to calm them both. .

"Our driver will be here to pick us up at 9, "Shigure was saying as their waiter appeared at his shoulder.

"_ Excuse me. Are you ready to order_?" He bowed slightly. He was used to Japanese tourists, but these were definitely a higher class group and would expect better service.

Tohru looked up. That voice sounded familiar. Was it was the young man from the night before? In the morning light he looked older. His eyes were the same deep brown. His bronzed, wavy hair was smoothed back. Last night a single stray lock hung over one eye. His hands were not as tanned as she remembered, but still strong looking and dark. He looked at Tohru politely, but without recognition, waiting for her order. It wasn't him. Tohru wondered why she felt a little disappointment. She looked at her menu and tried to decide what to have for breakfast. Bacon? Eggs? Oh, they had a Japanese breakfast. Fried fish, rice, miso soup, tsukemonoshe could order that without too much trouble.

Ayame was having crepes, made at the table. The entertainment value was as important as presentation and taste, he'd said, as they watched the waiter create Ayame's breakfast. This would fortify him, he said, for the arduous day ahead.

"We're going to drive around the island today." their driver announced. "There are several very nice beaches. We're going to a cultural center. It's a collection of villages. It will be like a tour of Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga and Hawaii, all in one day."

Cameras ready, they loaded into the limo and were off.

Freewaysso many freeways and housing developments and shopping malls, but backdropped behind them all, the dark green mystery of the Ko'olau mountainsthe remnants of a gigantic volcano, their guide said, eroded and carved by wind and rain over thousands of years before the first Polynesians landed in Hawaii. They stopped at a lookout, famous for a battle where a great warrior king's army defeated the island's defenders and threw them over the cliffs. The wind whipped their clothing and hair and Ayame grabbed Tohru's hand to keep her from flying away, he said, earning glares from both Yuki and Kyo who were further away and had to battle the wind to get to her.

They could see the beach even from this distance and beyond that an island, sitting offshore, that looked like the top of a hat.

They both managed to keep her from sitting next to Ayame in the limo. Shigure was amused by their unwitting cooperation in protecting Tohru; interesting but not unexpected.

"Talofa!"

"Llorana!"

Frightening!

The painted warriors with the grimacing faces and spears leaped out at Tohru. She squeaked and shut her eyes tight until she felt someone tug on her handrather two someones tug on each hand. She peeped and saw Yuki and Kyo looking at her. And a worried warrior apologizing in pretty good Japanesewith a peculiarly British accent. _"I hope she's not really frightened. Is she all right?"_

"Tohru-relax. He's about as scary as White Haru."

Tohru opened her eyes. The warrior had put his spear aside. He was easily twice Kyo's size but when Tohru looked closely she saw warm brown eyes and heard the refined tones of a scholar. The warriors were, in fact, all college students, working their way through school by being part of the cultural center. This warrior was from New Zealand, a Maori, whose major was, interestingly, Asian History. When he graduated he was going to return home to be a teacher, but while he was in schoolhe taught tourists about his own culture through demonstration of its martial arts...Maori style.

"_Come sit here in the shade. It's rather hot here. A cool drink might help, too._" He returned with something in a coconut with a straw. "_It's coconut water-non-alcoholic, straight from the coconut and cold._"

Tohru sipped at the cold, clear liquid. It was not too sweet but light and refreshing. She drank it all, gratefully. "Thank you." She was sorry for being frightened so easily.

"_It's all right. It happens all the time. I might be frightened if a samurai came at me with a sword_." He stepped away, back into the Maori village. "_Excuse me_. _I have to go, but you folks have fun_." He transformed suddenly from scholar to warrior in an instant and went off to frighten another group of tourists..

"Let's go. Shigure and Ayame are ahead. We have to catch up."

Kyo sensed that Tohru was hanging back. When he turned to look at her, she had this...peculiar, dazed look on her face. And then she was digging into her bag for something. She brought out a towel and handed it to...who WAS that guy? Yuki had gone on but not before he noticed Kyo turning back and Tohru was suddenly blocked from his view by a young man.

"_You remembered me?_" Keala smiled at the young tourist. His Japanese wasn't good enough for more. "_Thank you for_...uh..my towel?" Sign language. That worked. And smile. That always works too. Keala knew he had a killer smile. He didn't really remember her very well, but she did have his towel. That he recognized. How did she know to have it with her? Then he remembered that his brother wandered restlessly through Waikiki's waters on moonlit nights. He wondered if Kamano had been prowling while he and his friends were walking the beach. If Kamano had been out thereand had detected their intermingled scents in the water...AND told his Tutu...Suddenly, Keala was worried.

"Yes. Here is your towel. I had it cleaned. Thank you for helping me last night." And Tohru wanted to ask, What did you have to do with my dream? You were there, weren't you? Why?"

Keala recognized the orange haired boy as he made an abrupt appearance right at the girl's side. As if he belonged thereas if..hmm interesting. She didn't act like his girlfriend. And then the other guy showed up, almost on cue, too. He knew she wasn't his girlfriend either. Maybe they were related? Keala didn't think so. What worried him was that the girl recognized him from one chance encounter on the beach and somewhere else? Was his grandmother sending dreams again?

If so, he thought his Tutu might have made a mistake. There was no way this one would understand his family's heritage.

Tohru was not used to this much sun. Tokyo could be hot. But the sun in Hawaii was sointense. That must be why she felt dizzy. She had fallen behind while Yuki, Kyo and Shigure had stopped to watch a knife dancer. The shining steel flew up into the air and was caught, deftly, one handedly time after time. Shigure was certainly admiring the not so far out of high school girls who were teaching other tourists to dance. They'd almost got Ayame to go up with them, but he'd been distracted by the gift shop. There were just too many fascinating masks, feathers, coconut shell bras and other enticing souvenirs to compete with learning how to hula. Besides, the girls would still be there when he got out of the gift shop, right?

It was hot and Shigure was not used to wearing a collared shirt for this long and kimono, while not rare in Hawaii, were not common, even among tourists. The air conditioned limo beckoned but there was still more of this collection of Polynesian villages to enjoy. And what was the knife dancer doing now? Was that fire?

The fire dazzled her eyes, but not the inner eye of her heart that saw beyond what Keala presented to the world. Like Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and Ayame, there was a side to him that no one, outside of his family knew. A powerful presence that she had experienced in her dream. But she didn't understand what it was that she had experienced, only that at first it frightened her as the others had not, even transformed into their juunichi persona. Somehow, they had all retained their personalities. Keala and the other, whatever he was, became one with his element, the ocean, when transformed.

"Tutu" Keala thought to himself as he watched the young tourist, "What are you thinking this time. What is your mana'o or is my brother up to something...again?" He would have to have a long talk with his grandma when he got home. There seemed to be no reasoning with his twin. There was no sense dream sending to a tourist who could not possibly understand the transformation he and his brother went through when need drove them. His people understood. There had always been shape shifters among them and this was considered a gift and a responsibility, a heavy responsibility but not a curse. He wondered about the men she was with. There was something different, but familiar about the way they "felt".

"Hey, Keala, stop girl watching and get back to work." Oops..caught by the boss. Back to entertaining tourists.

Tutu watched her grandson talk to the young girl with long black hair. Under the shade of a tree where she taught tourists how to weave flowers into lei, she could see Keala accepting his towel and the way his smile flashed against his handsome face. She was so right for her grandsons. This girl understood transformations and accepted such things with a calm that Tutu had not seen in any other young woman Keala had yet brought home. And Kamano had asked for the dream sendingthe testing. That in itself was a break through. Yetshe knew that this required more than acceptanceit required a courage and fearlessness that had to be learned if it wasn't already part of the young woman. But the most difficult was the calm that was needed to accept the transformation into one of the most powerful hunters of the sea. Tutu hoped that both Keala and his twin, who was becoming more and more one with the sea, would some day find someone to share their lives withas their mother could not accept them or their father. Tutu sighed and watched the strange Japanese girl and her even stranger companions who were like and unlike her grandson.

Tohru was oblivious to the scrutiny. The cultural center was filled with flowers, dancers and music. The events of the last two days had left her dazed but once she gave the towel back to that tall young man she felt free to enjoy the rest of her vacation in Hawaii. "How lucky I am, Mom, " she thought. "I won a trip to Hawaii and I could bring my family, too."

Even though her first encounter with the Maori warrior had frightened her...as it had been intended to...she was beginning to enjoy herself. Ayame was holding full court with another group of tourists and had managed to attract considerable attention from men and women. Even without his waist length silver hair, he would have stood out as a very handsome man. He was clearly enjoying himself. It was just as clear that Yuki was trying to put some distance between himself and his brother without ditching the group entirely. Kyo was nowhere to be seen and Shigure worried about that a little. This wasn't Japan and a transformation because he had bumped into someone was to be avoided.

It was hot. It was crowded. The Cat hated it. There had to be somewhere he could go where there weren't crowds of people dogging his every step.. There was a beach across the two-lane highway. He could slip away and be back before he was missed. That damn Yuki was too busy avoiding his brother. No one would miss him. The Cat just had to get out of this box.

The traffic cleared and Kyo was gone.

Tohru made a face. Poi wastoo bland, too soft and sticky like natto, not like mochi which was soft but not drippy and...although it tasted like taro it was...different. She listened intently to the translator who was unfolding a saga of ocean voyages and hardy adventurers. And then, the young men began to dance to chanting. The translator stopped. He let the dancers tell the legend of the man who could become a shark. Yuki was bored. The chanting meant nothing to him and the energy and fierceness of the dance, at first interesting, was repetitive. He wished someone would translate. English was something they all learned in school but who knew what they were really saying in this chantcould be "touristgo homebut not before you buy something..." He looked around for Tohru and noticed that Kyo was gone. "Idiot." He muttered. He didn't care about that damn Cat. Kyo could go drown himself before Yuki would carebut if Tohru started worrying about him...well that was different. Tohru hadn't yet noticed Kyo was missing. She seemed to be mesmerized by the dancers. Yuki stepped toward her at the same time as that guy came back. The guy with the towelno, there were two of them now and while he hadn't liked the looks of the first young man, the appearance of the other alarmed him.

Kyo's toes dug into the sand and wave worn pebbles. The sea was smooth, almost glassy looking. It lapped at his toes. There was an expansiveness and serenity here that the beaches in Waikiki didn't seem to have. The breeze gently tousled his hair. This was a beach made for walking along the shoreline, hand in hand withhe stopped that thought and remembered what he was.

Kyo's hair was whipped back by the wind that sprang up suddenly. The white capped waves flecked the beach with foam and froth and a large, finned dark shape closed in on the shore with such speed that he jumped out of the way. But it wasn't necessary. The shapeblurredsomewhere between the sea and the land. It reared up out of the water and walked, naked, up onto the beach. The young man that emerged so abruptly from the water grinned toothily at Kyo, snatched boardshorts from the naupaka growing along the shore, put the shorts on and walked swiftly up the beach and across the street.

It was the grin that kept playing in his mind. It was a greeting;one fierce predator acknowledging another. Kyo scrambled up the beach, his urge to be away from Yuki forgotten in his sudden desire to make sure that Tohru was safe.

Keala frowned. His brother, Kamano had come back from his hunting and was looking fiercer than usual. Keala realized he was looking at the girl.

"It's that one, huh."

"No. Stop."

"What do you think I'm going to do to her?" He grinned at his twin. "She's too small for a snack."

"Cut it out." Keala warned. "Does Tutu think she's the right one? Or do you? I don't. Back off."

"Why? Because of that rat?" He jerked his head in Yuki's direction. "Or the dog over there?" Shigure turned to say something to Yuki but never noticed the intense scrutiny their small group was undergoing.

At that moment, Kyo made his appearance, glaring at the brothers, hovering protectively near Tohru. "No...because of him."

"He's no threatas long as he's got that thing on his wrist. As long as he chooses not to take it off and be who he really is. He's no threat. And he can't protect her as just a small cat." Kamano grinned. "We'll visit her dreams again tonight, bro. She's not afraid of me."

"Kamanono."

"Tell me, have we ever found someone else with as much courage and love as that girl?. Have we ever met anyone else who accepted the dreams and swam with us, with me? Even our own mother?

Keala couldn't answer him. The truth was, Tohru was the first. The dreams had frightened his mother and she had abandoned the boys and their father when they were very young. Their Tutu had raised them after their father left the family for the sea, broken hearted over the loss of the only woman he had loved. He never returned. Tohru was unique and that made her special to Kamano who had never found a girl who wasn't afraid of him.

"Until there's another I choose her. See you later." He blended into the crowd and disappeared. The small group that included Tohru Honda moved on to the next village and Keala was left to worry about what could happen next. He wanted Tohru to have a choice. This way was not right even if she'd been willing. He wished he'd let her get wet and lose her picturethat way his brother would never have tasted her scent and his in the water and wondered what she was and his Tutu would never have sent the dreams. He had to ward off the dreams, protect herbut how? How was he going to do this without telling her something that would sound insaneor criminalorboth.

That guy was heading toward them again. Kyo felt as if he were being stalkedcorrectionTohru was being stalked and she was so oblivious. She turned a welcoming smile on the newcomer.

"Hello."

"Hello." The guy ignored Kyo's attempt to get in between him and Tohru. If he was right and he'd been watching both Yuki and Kyo, for reasons he didn't understand, neither one of them ever got close enough to hold her.

He gently placed a lei around her neck and kissed her cheek." Aloha, My name is Keala Michael Brown."

Tohru flushed, bowed and answered automatically. "Tohru Honda. Pl pplleased to to meet yyyouu" The kiss flustered her but it seemed to be the custom here, a flower lei and a kiss.

Kyo couldn't do anything. Yuki was stymied as well. Shigure however, made his presence known just then..."Where's mine?"

Keala had an answer for that when a young girl appeared with lei for all threewho backed off quicklyand then realized it would be rude to refuse. Body language is everything in Hawaii and the young girl, smiled brightly. She took their hands and draped the lei over them, waiting until each man had draped it around their necksshe was used to tourists who didn't want to be touchedother cultures were more sensitive about personal space and the workers at the Cultural Center had been taught to respect thatShe smiled at them approvingly. "Aloha-welcome to the Cultural Center."

Tohru, as had been Keala's intentionwas caught unawaresand although what she wore looked like a leiit was special...woven into a lei was ti leaf, as long as she kept it onat least for tonightthe dreams should not affect her...he hoped.

This lei was different from the others she had been given. There were no flowers. It was a simple woven wreath of greensome kind of leaf braided like ropenot unattractive but very plain. Tohru liked it.

"Why isn't your lei pretty?" Ayame asked. "Mineis just wonderful. Scent, color, " he walked away holding his lei close to his face to appreciate the delicately scented flowers. "No cheap orchids." Because of course, when he saw that everyone else in the party had gotten a lei, he wanted one toobut not the same as the "plain" orchids Yuki, Shigure and Kyo had gotten. Kyo had already handed his to Tohru. The lei reminded him too much of a collar and it itched. Yuki, ever polite, continued to wear his and Shigure was busy looking for another.

"It's all right, Ayame-san. I like this style. It's very.." Tohru searched for a word to describe the freeing sensation the lei had given her as soon as Keala had put it around her neck.

"It's too plain." Ayame looked her over. "Somehow, the simplicity of the design suits you. If you look closer the weave is very interesting. But you have to get really close to appreciate it." Ayame matched his actions to his words and moved close to Tohru at the same time his brother inserted himself between them. "Ah, Yuki. I was just going to appreciate Tohru's adornment."

"Appreciate it from a distance, then." Yuki snarled.

Their excursion to the Cultural Center sped by uneventfully after that and Kyo, watching, never saw either Keala or his look alike again. He assumed they were brothers, at least, if not twins. He hoped that was the last time they would see either young man. He didn't like the looks of the first and the second's intent toward Tohru made him feel uncomfortably possessive.

All Tohru wanted after that day was a bath and bed. The bathrooms at this hotel were weird and Western. There was no bathtub where she could just soakshe would have to wash, rinse the tub and then fill it. It seemed like too much of an effortand feeling not quite clean after having just showered, she went to bed, promising herself a soak tomorrow night.

That was probably the reason the dreams came again. She was flying through the water again, but this time the dark shape beneath her was a young manswimming quicklyalmost flying through the water and as she watched, he transformed into something sleeker, finned, powerful and threatening that turned back suddenly and came toward her.

She was alarmed, but somehow, not afraid because she knew that this was a young man in one form and that this shark was who he becamenot by encountering someone of another gender, but because he willed it. She heard, without words, something that told her to be calm. The shark swam toward her and around herand suddenly she was awake...and Yuki in rat form and Kyo in cat form were next to her on the floor. Had they both tried to embrace her? Why was she on the floor? Yuki and Kyo looked wet and the smell of the sea was everywhere in her room.

"Hey, heywhat's happening ?" Kyo demanded, fear making his voice harsh. He paced her length on the floor, tail twitching in his agitation. "Why'd you go down to the beach by yourself so late? Don't you know how dangerous it is for a girl to be out so late by herself?"

"Honda-sanare you okay?" Yuki peered into her eyes, from just beyond her nose.

"Yes, yes I'm fine, Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun." She sat up and realized that she was soaked, her pajamas dripped and smelled as if she had gone swimming. "Why am I wet?" She murmured. "Excuse me, please. I need to get changed. I'm sorry I worried you."

"Yes, yesgo ahead" and just then both Yuki and Kyo reverted to their human forms. All three scrambled for clothing and a place to change in privacy.

"But we're not leaving you alone until we find out what's happening." Kyo shouted through the closed bathroom door.

And for once, Yuki agreed with him. "Honda-sanwe have to stay with you for the rest of the nightI'm sorrybut this is just too weird."

Tohru came out of the bathroom wordlessly, the blood drained from her face. "Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun" She pointed wordlessly at the bathroom, before she fainted. When Yuki and Kyo went to look, there was a large, headless fish lying in the bathtub, its blood had spattered the white tile. After that there was no sleeping for anyone. The hotel was nearly ready to throw them outexcept there was no way that tiny girl could have hauled such a large fish, bloody and headless, up to her room without help and although Yuki and Kyo might have been accomplices, not one of them looked the type to be able to land such a big fish, let alone decapitate it and sneak it up through a crowded hotel into their room. AND, they were the wealthiest guests at the hotelthe name Sohma reeked of money in Japan. There was little that wouldn't be tolerated for that kind of moneyeven if the trip was a freebie. The hotel staff politely removed the fish and arranged to have the room thoroughly cleaned. The

A staff translator was brought in to find out what had happened. Tohru could not remember anything except the dream and although she was very reluctant to speak about it, at last she was persuaded to do so.

The translator nodded politely and, if not for the wet room and dead fish, would have passed it off as a young girl's over active imagination, stimulated by exotic surroundings and an overwillingness to believe local legends. And yet. perhaps it would be a good idea to move this group to a room that didn't face the ocean.

"Kamano, noI can't today. I got called in to work. Yeah, a bunch of girls called in sick and something about Japanese tourists trashing their room and a dead fish. I dunnoyeah yeahI gotta go. Who knowsmaybe they wanted some extra fresh sashimi." Char laughed. Anyway, I'll" the girl hesitated, you didn't exactly always contact this guy on a cell phonesometimes you had to go to the beach..and wait." see you later."

Char put on her uniform and took the service elevator to the room on the 12th floor. The tourists were goneprobably down at breakfast while she cleaned their room. Geez what a messit smelled like they'd hauled up buckets of seawater and dumped it on the floorand at that, Char stopped and looked cautiously around the room. She walked into the bathroom. The fish was gone, but its size was apparent by the splatter of blood left on the tilesand she'd heard it had been headlesskilled, Char thought, by cutting or biting its head off. On a chair, next to the lanai's sliding glass door, was a withered green ti leaf leione with a certain weave that she knew very well because it was special to her adopted family. Charmaine Rivera, adopted by a Hawaiian family so that she was Hawaiian in spirit, if not by blood, dropped to her knees on the wet carpet and wondered what her hanai, her adopted brothers, Kamano and Keala, had to do with this group of tourists. Why they had gifted them with fresh catch from the sea and a ti leaf lei with the family's special protective weave? What was going on here?

Tohru wanted to go back to bedbut she was afraid to sleepand she didn't want to go near the beachso Ayame took her shopping. The store front on busy Kalakaua Avenue showcased a two story aquarium. Colorful fish, a manta ray and an eel swam slowly in the sunlit water. Tohru watched them and felt her eyes begin to close. This was as close as she wanted to be to any fishlooking at them through thick glass. She turned away just as a small shark swam past her. Ayame smiled at her. This would take her mind off those terrible nightmares that somehow had become very real. She'd finally allowed Ayame to buy her a Hawaiian dressnot the brightly flowered, ankle brushing style he'd chosen, nor the thin strapped, figure hugging outfit either but a kind of compromise that Tohru thought she would actually wear once she got back to Japan. Slightly disappointed, Ayame had contented himself with inspecting the fabrics' texture and colors and wondering where he could get these fabrics for his shop. Designs spun through his imagination as he fingered the cloth. Yuki rescued her while Ayame was preoccupied and Shigure shooed them away.

There were so many souvenirs here and all the salesclerks spoke Japanese. Yuki and Kyo didn't want to go shopping, but they all needed to get away from the room. The hotel was moving them to another room this afternoon, but until it was ready, no one could go back to the hotel.

"Souvenirsshopping." Kyo was disgusted.

"Wouldn't you like to get something for Kagura?" Tohru asked.

"No." Kyo walked away.

Tohru hung her head. She'd caused so much trouble for them. She really wasn't sure what had happened last night. She didn't remember much after the shock of seeing the fish in the bathtub. At this point, she just wanted to get on the next plane and head back to JapanbutAyame-san had gone to such trouble to take her shopping to get her mind off last night's events. She needed to make an effort, even if Kyo was upset.

"Don't worry about him, Honda-san." It was Yuki. "He's just in a bad moodas usual. Here " Yuki picked up picture frame with pink plumeria flowers. "Do you think Kisa would like this?"

Maintenance had brought the huge blower up to the room to dry the carpet. The bathroom was spotless. Clean, dry towels and fresh linen were in place for the next occupants. Once the carpet dried, the next group to move in would never know what had happened here. This group wouldn't be coming back to this room, but hadn't packed all their belongings for the move to the next room yet. There was a girl staying hereand two young men..probably siblings, she thoughther brothers Char guessed. One room was neat and clean, the other disorganized, as if the occupant had trouble dressing himself in the morning. TypicalChar thought-just like her brothersexceptonly one of her brothers actually slept in his bedroom at homeKamano didn't always come home and she had learned not to worry about him and not to ask too many questions about where he was.

Char looked at the lei draped on the chair; Keala had better have some answers for her.

"What?" Keala looked at the tiny girl, with her hands on her hips who was glaring at him. ..She had a ferocious curiosity and a fierce temper. He had to satisfy one so that he wouldn't be the target of the other.

"What was that lei doing in that girl's room? It was all withered, Kealaall brown and dry."

"What?" He whispered. "It didn't work."

"And why should it, bro," his brother had sauntered into the room behind him. "We're not doing anything that's hurting herthe lei is only meant to ward.off.harmful things. Tutu and I don't want to hurt herwe want to bring her into the family."

"And what if she doesn't want that? You're not giving her a choice."

His brother walked off without a comment. But Keala's Tutu was right behind him. "You, of all people, know the kind of person your brother needs to share his life. She has it all."

"But we aren't askingthat's not right." Keala could be stubborn, too.

"And yet, she hasn't said no either." his Tutu said. "She has entered the dream willingly."

Char, forgotten in the heated discussion, had slipped out the door behind Kamano. Of the two, she regarded Keala as a true brotherbut her feelings for Kamanowell, she didn't always want to examine them too closely. "Kamanowait. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

The room had been cleaned but the blowers were still drying the carpet. Tohru packed her things quickly. They would be here just one more day and then they could go home. Tohruwho had been looking forward to this trip, couldn't wait. She knew she shouldn't be selfish, but last night's events seemed to have wiped the enjoyment of the rest of the trip from her mind.

"Let's go." Kyo had his bags packed.

"Are you ready, Honda-san?"

"Yes." Tohru hoped she hadn't answered too fervently. Maybe putting some distance between herself and this room would keep the dreams away. Although they weren't exactly frightening they were just a little too realistic. And yet, if there was a dream tonight, where would they take her? She'd seen so many wonderful things flying through the ocean, unafraidescorted bywhat? One escort was a sharkas fearsome as Kyo in his other form butmore self assured that this was who he wasunapologeticit was as if he didn't consider his shark form to be a curse. The other, more reluctant escort, she sensed rather than saw. He, and she wasn't sure how she knew this, was not always in the dream. He wasn't there last night. She'd been with the shark only and somehow Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun had pulled her from the dream.

"Well, let's go then." Kyo shut the door behind them. He hoped that would keep whatever it was from Tohru. She'd come through the door of their suite last night, dripping wet and had literally fallen into their arms. Which explained why they were in cat and rat form when she opened her eyes. How she'd gotten out and down to the beach, in her pajamas, unnoticedthat was frighteningto him if not to Tohru...who hadn't seemed frightened at firstjust bemused to find him and Yuki and a carpet with a large seawater stain spreading around them. In fact, throughout all of this, Tohru hadn't been frightenedshe'd always been more concerned about inconveniencing them.

Yuki eyed Tohru closely. He wished he could keep her next to him but that wasn't proper or likely with Kyo around. She was so quiet today, as if her thoughts had gone elsewhere and that concerned him more than the strange events of the previous two days. He felt her moving away from them. She wouldn't leave them. She couldn't leave them. Could she? Some day she might. Was that some day coming soon?.

Their new room faced the mountains and overlooked the traffic on Kalakaua Avenue. Somehow, the fact that their room no longer faced the ocean was comforting. And someone had thoughtfully placed lei there to welcome themtwo orchid lei and one other, intricately woven, of red leaves. There was a tag, in clumsy hiragana"For the girl-chan"okay, this one was for Tohru. .

Tohru took the lei and draped it on a chair in her room. She forgot about it when they went out to dinner. Shigure had wanted to get away from the hotel but wanted to do something "local" and they'd gone to see a moviein English of course. Movie going in America seemed to be more of an occasion to eat than simply watching a movie. Tohru was amazed at the size of the popcorn and hot dogs available. Kyo and Yuki hadn't seemed to mind and Kyo even went back for "free refills" on the popcorn. Tohru felt stuffed. The movie had been a Chinese action adventure, translated to Englishbut the ongoing drama hadn't needed much translationit turned out to have some romance mixed in with the martial arts. Tohru had enjoyed it too, but she was ready for bed and the long soak in the bathtub that she hadn't gotten the night before. That was probably why she slept soundly through the dreamless night. Yuki and Kyo had stayed up longer than Tohru, waiting and watching over her closed door. But it seemed nothing more adventurous than the movie was going to happen tonight. They both tacitly agreed to turn inalthough they both left the doors to their rooms openjust in casebut the night passed uneventfully.

"What have you done?" Kamano stood angrily in front of his brother. "You blew it. What am I going to do? Now there's no one for meno one"

Keala flinched at the loneliness and pain in his brother's voiceit was becoming thicker, less used to speaking as a humanhe reached out to touch his shoulder and saw the mark on his backmore pronounced, deeper, darker

"Keala did nothing, Kamano." A gentle voice surprised them both. "Tutu?"

Their Tutu smiled at Charmaine who had come to see her after work and told her the story of the room she'd had to clean and all the surreptitious sightings she had of the twins' transformations. Charmaine had known all along...and the family had had their answer, right in their midst. Sometimes, Tutu had told the group of young people gathered around her, it made sense to appreciate the flowers growing in your own backyard.

Kyo, Yuki and Tohru were going to take one last walk along the beach. The hem of Tohru's Hawaiian sundress whipped in the wind, teasing her knees. She'd packed her Mom's picture, tucked it safely away in her carryon. She held her sandals in one hand. This would be the last timefor a while anywayuntil full summer came to Japan, that she would see Yuki or Kyo in knee length pantsa concession to walking in the sand along the beach.

The waves lapped gently against the sand. The sun shone, not quite high enough in the sky to heat the sand. And three people approached them, the two young men they'd encountered before and a tiny girl with short black hair and smiling brown eyes. She hung back as the two approached Tohru, Yuki and Kyo.

Keala bowed deeply. "_We apologize. We didn't mean to involve you in our family's concerns but..." _How could he tell her that she had been so rightfor them-yet she seemed to belong with these two.

Somehow she knew that these two had been her "escorts" in the flying through the water dreams. "Nono it was okayIit was so interestingI" she didn't know how to say this"I may never see the ocean like that again."

Yuki and Kyo stood with clenched fists. Kyo knew these were the guys he'd seen at the Cultural Center and the darker one was the creature Kyo had seen emerge from the ocean.

Kamano felt Kyo's intense stare and stared back, his eyes held a dark, challenging laughter. "If you weren't so afraid of your true selfif you knew the warrior, the fighter you really could bewe would have left the little one alone" he nodded at Tohru. "When are you going to tell her your truth?" Kyo flushed but found nothing to say, not in front of Yuki. Tohru looked at him with her gentle eyes and he turned away.

Keala stepped up and took both Tohru's hands in his own, large warm brown ones. Yuki was about to step between them, but Tohru clasped his hands back and her next words confused him. "Did you find what you were looking for?" She understood. Keala smiled down at her.

"_Yes. Where we least expected her to be_." He nodded toward the girl who had waded into the ocean up to her knees and beckoned the brothers impatiently. Both brothers moved closer to Tohru although Kamano didn't touch her. "_Be happy._" Keala smiled at her and let go of her hands. He bowed and turned toward the girl waiting in the water.

Kamano nodded at Kyo, who had started to walk back to the hotel and Yuki who had moved away. "Some day they will both share their secrets with you." His smile would haunt her dreams long after she'd returned to Japan. "I wish you happiness, too, little oneyou'd have made a worthy wife for a warrior and hunter." Tohru blushed. He turned abruptly. Her last view of the three was their running dives into the sea which no longer lapped gently but seemed to leap up to catch themand then they were gonethree sleek forms, swimming swiftly to the deep water.

"Shall we go, Honda-san?" Yuki's gentle voice brought her back.

"Come on." Kyo's shouted. "Shigure's checking us out already and I'm not wearing this stuff on the plane."

"Oh, I'm sorry" Tohru began.

"Don't worry about it." Kyo came up to her and looked into her face. "I'm just glad this is over."

"And that you're okay." Yuki added as he touched her shoulder.

And that you didn't go with them, they both thought. And that you decided to stay with us.

The ocean was calm again and far out at sea, three hunters raced through the water, fierce in their happiness at having found what each was looking for.


End file.
